Sep 30, 2021 08:30AM
Land is being transferred to or co-managed by Indigenous tribes, repatriating culturally and ecologically important resources with the former occupants and local communities.
A more sustainable approach for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic used in single-use beverage bottles, clothing and food packaging, has been found.
Production costs for solar energy dropped by 90 percent between 2009 and 2020, with experts estimating a rise in solar power plants around the world.
In lieu of federal regulation, the state of Maine has enacted a wide-ranging ban on the use of all perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), nicknamed “forever chemicals”, by 2030.
A recent report states that countries must recognize the important role that oceans have in limiting climate change and enact policies to protect marine ecosystems.
A report suggests that food waste should be viewed not only in relation to world hunger, but also in the context of climate change, as food production consumes vast amounts of resources.
Aug 31, 2021 08:30AM
Scientists have found that creating deadwood in coniferous forests is a promising restoration measure to promote an abundance of aboveground nesting bees.
Agricultural waste (agro-waste) such as manure, leaf litter and crop residues can be recycled into organic and sustainable construction materials, helping to reduce landfill issues.
An analysis has found that a pattern of inequitable distribution of trees has deprived many communities of the health and other benefits that sufficient tree cover can deliver.
A study has discovered sharks to be absent from many of the world’s coral reefs, indicating they are “functionally extinct”, that is, too rare to fulfill their normal role in the ecosystem.
Genetically recombined Trichoderma reesei fungus is producing synthetic versions of dairy proteins casein and whey for an animal-free milk.
Jul 30, 2021 08:30AM
A new study recommends changes in how regulatory agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assess the risks posed by the nearly 850 approved pesticide ingredients.
More than 30 percent of the world’s 1,500 or so cactus species are threatened with extinction, and criminal scavengers are primarily to blame.
Large investments made to clean up acid drainage into streams and rivers polluted by toxic metals from abandoned mining sites are yielding success.
With livestock contributing 32 percent of the methane footprint, there is a great need to regulate and mitigate methane emissions from global meat and dairy companies.
With a goal of 45 percent reduced CO2 emissions from textile fiber and material production by 2030, Textile Exchange is pushing for urgent climate action.
Jun 30, 2021 08:30AM
Researchers are using recycled rock dust to enrich farm and rangeland soils to accelerate the processes by which soils capture atmospheric carbon.
Hayek Hospital, in suburban Beirut, Lebanon, launched a 100 percent plant-based menu in March as a “moral responsibility”.
The agriculture startup Plenty Unlimited Inc. is building an indoor vertical farm in Compton to provide jobs and fresh produce to the historical “food desert” and surrounding areas.
The success of electric vehicle models, along with a plan to stop selling new internal combustion cars by 2035 in California, have propelled the transition from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
Las Vegas-area water officials hope to impose a policy banning grass on “nonfunctional turf” that no one walks on in such places as highway medians, housing developments and office parks.
The unswerving presentation of nature as an untouched wilderness in nature documentaries misleads viewers into thinking that an abundance of these areas currently remains.
May 28, 2021 08:30AM
With technological advances, falling costs, increased interest, the ability to relieve carbon dependency and the tremendous economic potential, offshore wind energy holds great promise.
An agreement between farmers, tribes and dam owners will result in the deconstruction of four aging, inefficient dams along the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest to restore salmon runs.
The proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada has passed a review by the Bureau of Land Management, but unhappy residents and conservation groups are filing lawsuits.
A proposed bill banning sunscreens containing the chemicals avobenzone or octocrylene, harmful to humans, marine animals and coral, has progressed through the Hawaiian House and Senate.
A new study predicts that if emissions of greenhouse gases go unchecked, summers in the Northern Hemisphere could last nearly six months by 2100.
A Dutch company, Crowded Cities, has a device called the CrowBar that trains birds to collect discarded cigarette butts in exchange for food.
The smartphone app Olio allows people with extra food to post a picture online. Anyone that wants the food can respond and pick it up as a gift.
Apr 30, 2021 08:30AM
The Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge connects people with nature in San Antonio across a six-lane highway at Phil Hardberger Park, the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the U.S.
A study reveals that the popular golden-mantled ground squirrel and 46 other species of rodents and shrews in Colorado are climbing uphill to escape warming temperatures in the state.
A study found that pollen seasons have been getting longer and more intense over the last 30 years with an increase in mean annual temperatures being the strongest driver.
Apr 30, 2021 08:30AM ● By Rachael Oppy
As cities phase out the installation of gas lines in new buildings to cut down on methane emissions, gas utilities have been staging adversarial campaigns nationwide.
MARLIT, an open-access web app based on a deep-learning artificial intelligence algorithm, will promote the detection and measurement of floating plastics in the sea.
Environmental activist Katrina Spade founded Recompose, the country’s first human composting funeral home, in Seattle, Washington, where composting as a form of human burial is legal.
Mar 31, 2021 08:30AM
More than 50 countries have united as the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People (HAC 30x30), avowing to preserve 30 percent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030.
Global Forest Watch, a free application, uses satellite imaging to detect and alert deforestation activities, a key factor of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change.
An open-access project, called Plan S, recently began requiring that scholarly papers published from the work they fund be made immediately available for public reading at no charge.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is facing crumbling infrastructure, maintenance needs, lack of resources, staffing cuts and chronic underfunding.
Researchers have formulated a new road-making material comprised of a mix of shredded single-use face masks and processed building rubble designed to meet civil engineering safety standards.
While demand and activity around organic products is rising, the challenge is to safeguard standards from large corporations that buy up organic brands and try to weaken USDA requirements.
Feb 26, 2021 08:30AM
The International Coral Reef Initiative has urged governments to take action to save the planet’s remaining coral reefs and their attendant fish populations.
The Bahamas Petroleum Company has begun exploratory oil drilling 150 miles from South Florida despite warnings of the potential for severe or catastrophic impact if a spill occurs.
Despite its enormous potential, geothermal energy supplied just 0.4 percent of U.S. electricity in 2019.
Manmade perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in snow at the top of Mount Everest, posing a risk for trekkers, climbers and residents that drink the water.
Although honey bees symbolize sustainability and are vital to farmers, they also have a distressing effect on the environment—destabilizing natural ecosystems by competing with native bees.
Researchers have developed a carbon-neutral way to produce jet fuel using carbon dioxide as a main ingredient.
Jan 29, 2021 08:30AM
Research suggests hurricanes will remain stronger and persist longer after making landfall, causing greater and more widespread destruction, because of ocean waters heated by climate change.
Researchers estimate people that drink bottled water ingest an additional 90,000 microplastic particles annually compared to 4,000 microplastics for those that drink only tap water.
Research finds that switching a child’s playground from gravel to natural forest floor could foster a better immune system by exposing them to a greater variety of skin and gut bacteria.
62 oil and gas companies acting as the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s Oil and Gas Methane Partnership have adopted framework to report methane emissions, but none of them are in the U.S.
The manufacture of cement creates up to 8 percent of the total global carbon dioxide generated by humans, but a variety of approaches are being explored to lower these worrisome emissions.
Extreme levels of stress from wildfires, hurricanes, floods and the pandemic can induce “disaster fatigue”, a form of emotional exhaustion that may reshape how people make choices.
Dec 30, 2020 08:30AM
A new study suggests that people that share more live longer because the act of giving and receiving increases well-being.
Researchers hypothesize that some animals are able to sense the Earth’s magnetic fields due to a symbiotic relationship with magnetotactic bacteria.
An international team of coastal scientists from around the world has disproved the theory that half the world’s beaches will become extinct over the course of the 21st century.
Scientists have developed a material that works like a luminescent solar concentrator for producing energy directly where needed that can be applied to textiles.
Researchers find that the act of smiling and moving facial muscles can trick our mind into taking a more positive attitude.
Rising nitrous oxide (N20) emissions are jeopardizing the climate goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, according to a study.
Nov 27, 2020 08:30AM
Amazon is labeling approximately 25,000 products with a Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF) designation to meet a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2040.
California governor has signed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act into law, which bans 24 ingredients from cosmetics and personal care products sold within the state.
MilkRun, a Portland, Oregon company, is supporting local farmers on small farms by enabling them to sell produce safely and directly to consumers.
According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, more than 1 billion people worldwide will live in countries with insufficient infrastructure to withstand climate change by 2050.
WellExplorer is an interactive tool that allows residents and scientists to find out what toxins have been deposited in their drinking water as a result of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Arctic Ice Project is proposing to scatter a thin layer of reflective silica glass particles over parts of the Arctic in an effort to protect it from the sun and help ice to re-form.
Oct 30, 2020 08:30AM
As millions of metric tons of solar panel waste containing lead are projected in the coming years, groups are working ensure proper recycling protocols are in place.
Nearly 6,000 scientists signed a pledge to #ShutDownSTEM on June 10, the day of the Strike for Black Lives across higher education.
Blue jeans create a unique type of environmental pollution as researchers have detected indigo denim microfibers in wastewater effluent, lakes and even remote Arctic marine sediment.
A study found that forest recovery declines significantly under warmer, drier conditions caused by climate change, making forests less resilient to fire.
Species of global conservation concern have declined in Canada by 42 percent and Canadian at-risk species fell by 59 percent, between 1970 and 2016, according to a new report.
The state of California has approved a $437 million campaign devoted to building thousands of electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
Sep 30, 2020 08:30AM
Scientists have found that the skin of deep-sea fish absorbs more than 99.95 percent of the light that hits them, aiding research in ultra-black substances for sensitive optical equipment.
According to a recent report on e-waste, a record 53.6 million metric tons of electronics were discarded in 2019 and could likely increase to 74.7 million tons per year by 2030.
Apple, Inc., the maker of the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers, has committed to becoming 100 percent carbon neutral overall, from its supply chain to retail outlets, by 2030.
Experts have discovered kelp that has survived for 16,000 years since the last ice age and are hopeful that this find will show how marine plant life survives extreme changes in climate.
The global total fertility rate (TFR) nearly halved from 1950 levels, when women had an average of 4.7 children each, to 2.4 in 2017, and it could fall below 1.7 by the turn of the century.
A worldwide inventory of methane sources reveals that atmospheric levels of the heat-trapping greenhouse gas are at an all-time high due to agriculture, fossil fuels and landfill waste.
Aug 31, 2020 08:30AM
A study concludes that if we act quickly and decisively, there is an opportunity to conserve about half of the planet’s ice-free land.
Conscientious nurses have formed the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and partnered with Project Drawdown to significantly impact climate change and create a healthier future.
Manufacturer Kuraray has introduced a renewable and sustainable starch-based barrier film called Plantic. The plant-based packaging material can be recycled or composted.
Researchers estimate more than 1,000 tons of microplastics are deposited from the air into national parks and wilderness areas each year.
Study finds that loggerhead turtles are attracted to ocean plastic they've confused as food, causing 1,000 to die each year from consuming plastic or getting tangled up in it.
A study that analyzed the climate impacts of hydropower generation facilities found that while many release almost no greenhouse gases, some can be worse than burning fossil fuels.
Jul 31, 2020 08:30AM
The Montana Supreme Court has decided that fossils should not be deemed minerals, a ruling that restores ownership to landowners and benefits scientific fossil hunting by paleontologists.
A conservation biologist and an artist designed a menagerie of imaginary beasts to find out which animals people were most willing to support through financial donations.
All over the world, plants and animals are increasingly threatened by human activities and habitat encroachment.
When pollen is scarce, bumblebees use their mouth parts to snip little bits out of plant foliage, causing the plants to bloom at an accelerated rate.
Tropical forests remove and absorb carbon from the atmosphere, but as trees stressed by global warming die and release their carbon, their ability to act as reservoirs will diminish.
The U.S. Department of Energy is spending $230 million this fiscal year to start building two new prototype nuclear reactors as part of an Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
Jun 30, 2020 08:30AM
Viruses like COVID-19 that jump from animals to people will likely become more common as people continue to transform natural habitats into agricultural land, says a new study.
Nature may improve cognitive function by improving memory formation and recall, specifically that of short-term or working memory, and goal-oriented or directed attention.
In research that could help target new treatments for skin cancer, scientists have identified how human skin suppresses inflammation after exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR).
Listening to music for 30 minutes a day can lower post-heart attack anxiety and significantly reduce future cardiac risks, reports a new study.
Fear and anxiety brought on by major stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic may have a lasting impact on a man’s sperm composition that could affect future offspring.
Mindfulness and meditation techniques have been linked to anti-aging and longevity, as marked by longer telomere length, a biomarker of human aging.
May 29, 2020 08:30AM
A high voltage can be generated from raindrops using a field-effect, transistor-style structure, reports a new study.
Countries around the world are growing “sentinel trees” in strategic locations to receive advance warnings of destructive pests that could destroy native plantings.
Researchers have found that just one week of practicing mindfulness—moment-to-moment awareness—reduces feelings of paranoia.
People continuously exposed to air pollution are at increased risk of dementia, especially if they also suffer from cardiovascular diseases, reports a new study.
Tofu and other foods containing higher amounts of isoflavones are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, especially for younger women and postmenopausal women not taking hormones.
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